First of all, we just like to see ads for other newsletters. It makes us feel validated. Go get those subscribers. This one earns bonus points for listing 5 actually useful facts. The Buzzfeed-esque practice of baiting you into clicking through (sticking around until the end, in this case) is a tried-and-true tactic. Plus, we actually did not know about fact #5. The creator’s energy, along with native text, changing backgrounds, and smooth transitions, are all perfect for a TikTok ad. We’d make another gas pun here, but we exhausted those in the Wild Dose write-up.
We focus on ads that any brand could comfortably reproduce, but we couldn’t possibly ignore this 10-minute behemoth of a TikTok. You wouldn’t typically expect such self-aware content from a company with yearly revenue exceeding 8.7B, but Hilton comes out of the gate talking about the TikTok inauthenticity conundrum that all brands are facing. What follows is a roller coaster of native content, creator features, brand personification, historical anecdotes, competitor attacks, a bit of humility, and an all-out assault on the fourth wall — breaking it too many times to count. It stays true to so many of the TikTok tactics we see performing, and executes on the level that only the budget of a Fortune 500 company can afford. We’d love to get performance data on this one to see if teasing rewards actually got people to stay until the end, but that’s not gonna happen. Entertaining, ambitious, and probably (definitely) not feasible for 99.9% of brands out there. This branding TikTok has all of the amenities, but pricing options are out of just about everyone’s range.
“I got fooled” is such a great hook that we feel like fools for never having tested it in our own ads. That’ll probably change soon… It piques the audience’s interest and acts as a great setup for a comparison ad. UGC-style filming and native text treatment are perennial performers that we always love to see. Obviously, we have a soft spot for this pillow ad.
At the risk of sounding weird, we’ve also tested bare belly intros in our creative, and guess what… they really perform! Additional shoutouts are earned for clever transitions and for showing social proof in the form of customer reviews. The product demo and side-by-side comparison at the end are solid closing statements and shake viewers off the fence and onto the landing page. 10/10 — this anti-bloating ad is straight gas.
When your visuals are this captivating, you don’t need on-screen text. Even sound-off viewers can derive the waterproof/washable USPs from the sequence. It’d also be easy to create at home — a low-cost-yet-potentially-high-performing creative… dreamy. That being said, the true test of diaper bag endurance takes place outside of the home, so we’d like to have seen some outdoor and impact shots mixed in. Still, this diaper bag ad doesn’t stink.
Any time you challenge your viewers’ first instinct, you create the potential for a great hook. [What do you mean that’s not a rug?! *watches defiantly*]. Copy says it all without saying too much. The camera angle is refreshing and does a superb job of keeping attention on the product. This ad had great vibes all around — nothing rugged us the wrong way.
Put that coffee down and sip on this full-length side-by-side. The creator adds an extra level of directness by making eye contact, but strategically only on the side featuring the product. Each frame stays on screen long enough for all information to be digested, but background movement keeps quick readers and skimmers engaged. Finally, the CTA to “reclaim control…” is direct and biting. If this ad gave you the jitters, maybe you could benefit from a little product trial.
